Dead blow sports equipment

ABSTRACT

A piece of sports equipment includes a handle, a head attached to the handle, and at least one dead blow mechanism. The at least one dead blow mechanism includes a chamber and a movable portion disposed within the chamber. The chamber and the movable portion each include a similar cross sectional shape.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is related to and claims priority benefit from U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/049,244 (“the '244 application”), filed on Jul. 8, 2020 and entitled “DEAD BLOW SPORTS EQUIPMENT.” The '244 application is hereby incorporated in its entirety by this reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The field of the invention relates to sports equipment with at least one dead blow mechanism and methods for manufacturing and using dead blow sports equipment.

BACKGROUND

Many types of activities and sports include equipment that is subject to repeated impacts and collisions. Traditional sports equipment is static and unable to absorb or attenuate vibrations associated with such impacts, which results in injuries, fatigue, and poor ergonomics for the user.

To increase safety and improve ergonomics for users of sports equipment, it may be desirable to design new equipment with at least one dead blow mechanism.

SUMMARY

The terms “invention,” “the invention,” “this invention” and “the present invention” used in this patent are intended to refer broadly to all of the subject matter of this patent and the patent claims below. Statements containing these terms should be understood not to limit the subject matter described herein or to limit the meaning or scope of the patent claims below. Embodiments of the invention covered by this patent are defined by the claims below, not this summary. This summary is a high-level overview of various aspects of the invention and introduces some of the concepts that are further described in the Detailed Description section below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used in isolation to determine the scope of the claimed subject matter. The subject matter should be understood by reference to appropriate portions of the entire specification of this patent, any or all drawings and each claim.

According to certain embodiments of the present invention, a piece of sports equipment comprises: a handle; a head attached to the handle; and at least one dead blow mechanism, wherein the at least one dead blow mechanism comprises a chamber and a movable portion disposed within the chamber.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a top perspective view of sports equipment according to certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial perspective view of the sports equipment of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a front view of sports equipment according to certain embodiments of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of sports equipment according to certain embodiments of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The subject matter of embodiments of the present invention is described here with specificity to meet statutory requirements, but this description is not necessarily intended to limit the scope of the claims. The claimed subject matter may be embodied in other ways, may include different elements or steps, and may be used in conjunction with other existing or future technologies. This description should not be interpreted as implying any particular order or arrangement among or between various steps or elements except when the order of individual steps or arrangement of elements is explicitly described.

In some embodiments, a piece of sports equipment 10 is designed to function with at least one dead blow mechanism 100. As shown in FIGS. 1-4, the sports equipment 10 may include a handle 11 and a head 12. In some embodiments, there is at least one dead blow mechanism 100 located (i) near the head 12, (ii) in between the handle 11 and head 12, (iii) on the handle 11 near the head 12, and/or any other appropriate location. The at least one dead blow mechanism 100 may be integrally designed into new sports equipment 10 such that the sports equipment 10 is manufactured with the at least one dead blow mechanism 100. In other embodiments, the at least one dead blow mechanism 100 is designed to be retrofit onto the sports equipment 10 (i.e., the sports equipment 10 was originally designed/manufactured without the at least one dead blow mechanism 100).

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate embodiments where the sports equipment 10 is a lacrosse stick. As shown in FIG. 3, the sports equipment 10 may be a racket for tennis, racquetball, squash, badminton, table tennis, or any other appropriate game/sport. As shown in FIG. 4, the sports equipment 10 may be a stick or bat for ice hockey, field hockey, baseball, cricket, or any other appropriate game/sport.

Although FIG. 2 illustrates sports equipment 10 with two dead blow mechanisms 100, the sports equipment 10 may have any number of dead blow mechanisms 100 including one, three, four, five, six, or more. In some cases, the dead blow mechanisms 100 are centered on/around the handle 11. For example, for embodiments such as illustrated in FIG. 2, a third dead blow mechanism 100 could be added between the two illustrated mechanisms 100 such that the third mechanism would be approximately aligned with the handle 11.

FIG. 2 shows the sports equipment 10 as transparent to better illustrate the structure and components of the at least one dead blow mechanism 100. Each dead blow mechanism 100 may include a chamber 101 a, 101 b and at least one movable portion 102 a, 102 b. In some embodiments, the chamber 101 a, 101 b has an axial direction X that is approximately aligned with an expected direction for receiving, hitting, catching, throwing, or otherwise interfacing with an object 1 (e.g., a ball, puck, shuttlecock, etc.). Each chamber 101 a, 101 b may include a cross section (perpendicular to direction X) that approximately matches a shape of the corresponding movable portion 102 a, 102 b. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the chambers 101 a, 101 b may have a circular cross section and the movable portions 102 a, 102 b may be cylindrical, spherical, or any other appropriate shape. In other embodiments, each chamber 101 a, 101 b may have a different cross section, such as triangular, rectangular, square, pentagonal, hexagonal, septagonal, octagonal, or any other appropriate shape. The movement of the at least one movable portion 102 a, 102 b may be linear (e.g., axial direction X), arced, a curved path, a partially curved path, a compound curved path, and/or any other appropriate configuration.

The chambers 101 a, 101 b may include a larger volume than the movable portion 102 a, 102 b to allow the movable portion 102 a, 102 b to travel from one end to the opposite end. In some embodiments, each chamber 101 a, 101 b has an internal length that is approximately twice the length of the movable portion 102 a, 102 b. The interior volume of each chamber 101 a, 101 b may be empty, may include a fluid, and/or may include another object (i.e., at least one spring and/or pad). In some embodiments, the interior volume may include a vacuum. In other embodiments, the interior volume may be filled with air. In other embodiments, the interior volume may be filled with a fluid, such as water or a fluid with a higher viscosity (such as an oil). In some cases, the internal surfaces of the interior volume may include a coating to reduce friction between the chamber 101 and the movable portion 102. In some cases, each end of the chamber 101 includes a pad and/or a spring to absorb impact from (and decelerate) the movable portion 102. In some embodiments, the movable portion 102 a, 102 b may comprise steel, tungsten, aluminum, rubber, graphite, polymer, lead, and/or any other appropriate material.

In some embodiments, the at least one dead blow mechanism 100 may be designed to be modular such that a user can tune the sports equipment 10 by customizing the dead blow mechanism(s) 100. For example, the user may be able to change the weight, size, shape, quantity of the movable portion(s) within each dead blow mechanism 100.

The at least one dead blow mechanism 100 may affect the characteristics of the sports equipment 10 when receiving or catching the object 1. For example, for a lacrosse stick, when catching a ball 1, the at least one dead blow mechanism 100 may help absorb and attenuate the impact which results in less rebound making it less likely for the ball 1 to inadvertently exit the head 12. In other words, when catching a ball traveling at a high velocity, the at least one dead blow mechanism 100 may help the user maintain control of the ball. In addition, the at least one dead blow mechanism 100 may affect the characteristics of the sports equipment 10 when launching or throwing the object 1. For example, for a lacrosse stick, when throwing a ball 1, the at least one dead blow mechanism 100 may help transfer energy from the stick 10 to the ball 1.

The components of any of the sports equipment 10 described herein may be formed of materials including, but not limited to, thermoplastic, carbon composite, plastic, nylon, glass-filled nylon, polyetherimide, steel, aluminum, stainless steel, high strength aluminum alloy, titanium, other plastic or polymer materials, other metallic materials, other composite materials, or other similar materials. Moreover, the components may be attached to one another via suitable fasteners, which include, but are not limited to, screws, bolts, rivets, welds, over molding, injection molding, epoxy, or other mechanical or chemical fasteners.

Different arrangements of the components depicted in the drawings or described above, as well as components and steps not shown or described are possible. Similarly, some features and sub-combinations are useful and may be employed without reference to other features and sub-combinations. Embodiments of the invention have been described for illustrative and not restrictive purposes, and alternative embodiments will become apparent to readers of this patent. Accordingly, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above or depicted in the drawings, and various embodiments and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claims below. 

That which is claimed is:
 1. A piece of sports equipment comprising: a handle; a head attached to the handle; and at least one dead blow mechanism, wherein the at least one dead blow mechanism comprises a chamber and at least one movable portion disposed within the chamber.
 2. The piece of sports equipment of claim 1, wherein the chamber and the at least one movable portion each comprise a similar cross sectional shape.
 3. The piece of sports equipment of claim 1, wherein the chamber comprises a circular cross section.
 4. The piece of sports equipment of claim 1, wherein the at least one movable portion comprises at least one selected from the group of steel, tungsten, aluminum, rubber, graphite, polymer, and lead.
 5. The piece of sports equipment of claim 1, wherein the sports equipment is a lacrosse stick.
 6. The piece of sports equipment of claim 1, wherein the chamber comprises at least one selected from the group of air, water, oil, and a vacuum.
 7. The piece of sports equipment of claim 1, wherein an internal surface of the chamber comprises a coating to reduce friction between the chamber and the at least one movable portion.
 8. The piece of sports equipment of claim 1, wherein the at least one dead blow mechanism comprises at least two dead blow mechanisms.
 9. The piece of sports equipment of claim 1, wherein the at least one dead blow mechanism is modular and can be tuned by changing at least one selected from the group of weight of the at least one movable portion, size of the at least one movable portion, shape of the at least one movable portion, or quantity of the at least one movable portion.
 10. The piece of sports equipment of claim 1, wherein movement of the at least one movable portion comprises at least one selected from the group of linear, a circular arc, a curved path, a partially curved path, or a compound curved path.
 11. A lacrosse stick comprising: a handle; a head attached to the handle; and at least one dead blow mechanism.
 12. The lacrosse stick of claim 11, wherein the at least one dead blow mechanism comprises a chamber and at least one movable portion disposed within the chamber.
 13. The lacrosse stick of claim 12, wherein the chamber and the at least one movable portion each comprise a similar cross sectional shape.
 14. The lacrosse stick of claim 12, wherein the chamber comprises a circular cross section.
 15. The lacrosse stick of claim 12, wherein the at least one movable portion comprises at least one selected from the group of steel, tungsten, aluminum, rubber, graphite, polymer, and lead.
 16. The lacrosse stick of claim 12, wherein the chamber comprises at least one selected from the group of air, water, oil, and a vacuum.
 17. The lacrosse stick of claim 12, wherein an internal surface of the chamber comprises a coating to reduce friction between the chamber and the at least one movable portion.
 18. The lacrosse stick of claim 12, wherein the at least one dead blow mechanism is modular and can be tuned by changing at least one selected from the group of weight of the at least one movable portion, size of the at least one movable portion, shape of the at least one movable portion, or quantity of the at least one movable portion.
 19. The lacrosse stick of claim 12, wherein movement of the at least one movable portion comprises at least one selected from the group of linear, a circular arc, a curved path, a partially curved path, or a compound curved path.
 20. The lacrosse stick of claim 11, wherein the at least one dead blow mechanism comprises at least two dead blow mechanisms. 